Only I Am A Reader

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A complete Major Energy Cycle, the second requirement to truly attain the Peak Stage was known as such!

Although it sounded fancy at first glance, it was merely a description of the Internal Energy required to manifest the abilities of the Peak Stage. All in all, the Major Energy Cycle was a major threshold even irrelevant to stage advancement.

60 years of Internal Energy, once a Martial Artist had managed to accumulate that amount of Internal Energy in their Dantian, they would be capable of using the preliminary form of Weapon Energy, usually known as Sword Qi, or Energy Sword. Becoming a Peak Martial Artist was still necessary to use the true thing, but just the fact that pure volume could exhibit such a characteristic showed how significant that threshold was!

Naturally, this was a hurdle that couldn't only be solved through resources. Martial Art attainment, talent, and so on were all necessary. However, it remained a fact that there was only one major hurdle to taking that step… Dantian Volume!

In order for one's Dantian to have the capacity to contain that much Internal Energy. A minimum of two Dantian Expansions had to be performed. While that appeared to be easily plausible considering the two advancements that occurred prior to the final step, not everyone had the luxury to perform that process every time. At that point, the only solution that one could rely on was to wait.

Although it wasn't a very speedy process, one's Dantian would naturally grow with them as they grew older the moment they opened it. Even if one was to miss one expansion, the same size could still be achieved in a couple of years if one had enough talent. However, to young geniuses, time was often more precious than priceless resources…

'At least that's not my problem now.'

Thanks to the protagonist's severe lack of time, the importance of Dantian Expansion was repetitively mentioned in the novel. Taking that into consideration, Leo had always prioritized that process. In any case, the instructors similarly stressed its necessity as recorded in the Scarlet Sky Record.

Gulp.

Swallowing the two pills at once, Leo could feel the sudden surge of cool natural energy. No matter how the Mount Hua's people acted, their pills were known as one of a kind due to their great resonance with nature. Consuming it was much less of a load compared to the Heavenly Strength Society's product.

'It's okay…'

Even then, consuming two pills containing a total of 20 years' worth of Internal Energy at once was still too much for the current Leo. However, he firmly persisted in circulating the Scarlet Sky Breathing method as he reassured himself that he had the Blade Spirit's assistance! Sanguine threads were already pressing into his body as soon as they started.

Despite already having close to 50 years of Internal Energy, the absorption ratio that became worse with progress made it that Leo required more pill energy compared to Yeon who was already pressing through the fifties, but he still didn't require the entire content of the two pills that he swallowed. Still, balance wasn't something that he had to worry about!

The surplus of energy that threatened to escape out of his body in order not to damage it was suddenly caught and absorbed by Cheon Jeong's Internal Energy Threads! Like nutrient tubes that were just injected with their relevant solution, the energy was almost perfectly transmitted into Yeon through Cheon Jeong's other hand!

Woooo!

'It isn't as hard as I expected.'

Each stage advancement usually felt harder to accomplish. In most cases, even Energy Circulation itself would slow down in resistance to the upcoming change. However, under supervised assistance, Leo's absorption process was as smooth as the past attempts… if not even easier!

Unlike receiving outside assistance with Energy Channel Clearing, assisted circulation wasn't a harmful process as long as both the subject and the supervisor used the exact same method. In Leo's case, the synergy effect was strong enough to shadow any impracticability!

As the balanced absorption remained in motion, a sanguine shade seemed to dye the dark night sky as it started to redden like a blooming rose. Even Leo and Yeon's advancement to the revered Peak Stage was incapable of bringing about such a phenomenon, but things were different when someone at Cheon Jeong's level connected the two…

To begin with, the Scarlet Sky was a method formulated upon uniting emotions in misery and reversal. Considering the member structure of the Heavenly Strength Society, achieving synergy as comrades in suffering was natural. However, the connection between Leo and Yeon took that concept far and beyond. Rather than just sharing energy, they were helping each march… run towards the door of the next stage!

As year after year of Internal Energy became part of their Dantian, the unrealized breakthrough surfaced again as the energy started circulating on its own. Lightning crackled in the bleeding sky, a faint scarlet aura surrounding the three of them!

The Sword Sage and his people didn't mutter any words, continuing their roles as observers. Such a direct taunt added salt to the wounds that they had yet to recover from, but no one could say no to a breakthrough once it came. Any interference would be a direct declaration of war incomparable to the verbal skirmish that they exchanged earlier...

'Here it is!'

With the incredibly smooth passing of the first step, everything fell to place as Leo started to feel his body grow lighter. The remaining extra energy was cleansing his body. As always, however, Leo had another task to direct that excess to!

'Let's do it, Yeon.'

Responding to the thoughts transmitted through the interchangeable energy link, the two Peak Stage fledglings started pressuring their bloated Dantian at once! Both of them were attempting their third Dantain Expansion under everyone's eyes!

'What's done is already done anyway…'

Since the situation had already developed to this point, did it really matter if they sat here for a few more hours?